110
Escarpment Magazine Spring 2014
WhileMLS
®
sales inMarch continued to trendbelow that
of 2013, thedropwas not nearlyas pronouncedas in the
prior twomonths. MLS
®
dollar sales inMarch were 3%
below that ofMarch 2013while unit sales for themonth
trailed10%behind last year’s results.
Given the see-sawaffectwehaveexperienced in sales Jan-
uary throughMarch, year-to-dateMLS
®
sales for the first
quarter totals$113.2million, adropof $7.7millionor6%
below first quarter sales of 2013. MLS
®
unit sales of 335
properties through theendofMarchare51 sales fewer or
13% less than thenumberofproperties that tradedhands in
the first quarterof2013.
As was forecasted, we continue to see a reduction in the
numberofnew listingscomingonto themarketwhich is lead-
ing tomore balancedmarket conditions favouring neither
Sellers, norBuyers toany significant degree. Thisof course
variesbyareaandprice rangehowever themarket overall
remainsstable.Year-to-date thenumberofnewMLS
®
listings
reported in2014 totals1,365properties, down13% from
one year ago. Similarly, expired listings which total 722
properties for the firstquarterof theyeararealsodown12%
from the first threemonthsof2013.
The reduction inyear-to-date salesactivity isbeing felt right
across theGeorgianTrianglewithvirtuallyeverymunicipal-
ity reflecting softer sales in the first threemonths of 2014
compared tooneyearago.Year-to-datesingle familyhome
sales inCollingwoodof 44propertiesareoff 44% through
theendofMarch. Results for other areamunicipalities are
as follows:Clearviewdown38%, theBlueMountainsdown
27%,WasagaBeachdown21%while theMunicipalityof
Meaford is just 5%off of lastsyear’space.GreyHighlands
is theonlymunicipality that has experiencedan increase in
single familyhome sales this yearwith26 sales reflectinga
53% increaseover the first quarterof2013. In total, single
familyhomesalesaredown21%with220homessoldyear-
to-date compared to278 in the first threemonths of 2013.
Areacondominium salesmeanwhilearedown9% thisyear
with63 sales so far, just 6 less than the same time last year.
While sales activity this year has reflecteda softer market
overall, weather seems to be the common denominator
through the region.Economic factors, interest ratesandcon-
sumer confidence all bodewell for strong sales activity as
we head into the traditionally active springmarket. Slow-
downs such aswe have seen over the pasts threemonths,
typically serves toestablishapent-updemandandwithbet-
terweather soon tobeuponus, saleswill nodoubt increase
as the temperature rises.
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ESCARPMENT
®
REAL ESTATE
|
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